Any tips for starting Peppers by seed?

[AnjJ415]

Hey hey....Just wanted to see if anyone has any good tips for growing peppers by seed, in pots or the ground? I seem to get them to sprout and then have a hard time keeping them up after that. I have tried watering once soil is completely dry and have also tried watering once the soil is moist. I am finding the two peppers (Serrano and Mini Bell) which have survived, out of many, seem to like a watering once dry. As far as environment, I have tried leaving them in a grow room, outside and in the kitchen window. It seems the ones in the kitchen window will get to about 1/2" and then rot. The ones outside, full to filtered sun and in the heat, sprout, turn yellow and then don't do anything, the ones in the grow room looked like they were promising but then stopped growing at about 1". I tried moving the seedlings to a warmer spot outside, all died except two, the Serrano and mini bell. I now keep them outside under a larger plant for protection but they still seem slow. They were planted in mid-April and started indoors and have been outdoors for about a month and a half They are also planted in well drained and nutrient soil.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated, THANKS A BUNCH!!!

 

[Nutes and Nugs]

I think the nutrient soil is too strong for your peppers and they are burning up.
Buy some seed starter soil and don't feed them until they have a few sets of leaves.
Letting them dry out too much can damage the root system when they are young.

 

[AnjJ415]

Thanks, I will do that!
Is it safe to say that Fox Farm Ocean Forest cut with Roots Organics is too strong for peppers?

 

[Nutes and Nugs]

Thanks, I will do that!
Is it safe to say that Fox Farm Ocean Forest cut with Roots Organics is too strong for peppers?

I find peppers to be finicky with too much nitrogen through their life cycle.
Never grew with ff so I can't tell ya.
Just bland seed starter soil from your favorite home store.

 

[AnjJ415]

Cool, thanks much!

 

[Mister Sister]

FFOF or RO are fine. Peppers are slow growers. I would recommend just growing them outside in some soil amended with composted manure. Use straw as a mulch. If you feel the need to fertilize, use an organic fish-based fertilizer for young growth (Nitrogen) and switch it up to an organic bloom fert when you see flowers appearing.

In my experience, those little hot peppers don't need much in the way of ferts though. Just give them full sun, water when dry, and tell them how much you love em. Repeat until frost and you'll have more peppers than you can use.

 

[bigdaddycatfish4]

no i dont think ff is suitable for starting plants, i used happy frog. some plants did great but i had problems with 2 varieties of tomatoes and my hungarian hot wax peppers. tried them in different soil to start out and they did fine. i just think it has too much of something in it for some plants. my tomatoes got really spindly on the first 2 sets of leaves then died. so i used seed starting mix and they are kicking ass now.. fuck ffhf to start seeds....never again.......

 

[Ilovebush]

I agree with the soil being hot. You gotta be patient with peppers...very slow growers as mentioned. I started mine in february...shultz potting mix worked great for them with only moderate window lighting. I'm glad I started them as early as I did. After transplanting them outdoors...they took off and now the only problem is the slugs like to munch on that shit. I'm currently trying to remedy this hurdle with coffee grinds around the base. Very rewarding to grow something that takes so damn long. I didn't pH water at all and had no problems with them. I simply let tap water sit for at least 24 hours to reduce the chlorine. I also have 14 more bell peppers growing in triple mix and they seem to be loving that as well...those gotta go into the ground soon...note to self!

 

[AnjJ415]

I agree with the soil being hot. You gotta be patient with peppers...very slow growers as mentioned. I started mine in february...shultz potting mix worked great for them with only moderate window lighting. I'm glad I started them as early as I did. After transplanting them outdoors...they took off and now the only problem is the slugs like to munch on that shit. I'm currently trying to remedy this hurdle with coffee grinds around the base. Very rewarding to grow something that takes so damn long. I didn't pH water at all and had no problems with them. I simply let tap water sit for at least 24 hours to reduce the chlorine. I also have 14 more bell peppers growing in triple mix and they seem to be loving that as well...those gotta go into the ground soon...note to self!

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea peppers took so long. I guess I assumed they were just waiting for the heat
Here's a tip for the for the slugs, you can either put salt around the outside of your pot or bed OR place a copper strip around it.
The slugs wont be able to cross either
Oh ya...and what's triple mix?

 

[AnjJ415]

no i dont think ff is suitable for starting plants, i used happy frog. some plants did great but i had problems with 2 varieties of tomatoes and my hungarian hot wax peppers. tried them in different soil to start out and they did fine. i just think it has too much of something in it for some plants. my tomatoes got really spindly on the first 2 sets of leaves then died. so i used seed starting mix and they are kicking ass now.. fuck ffhf to start seeds....never again.......

I personally wouldn't cut out FF for seed starting completely I have started a number of plants with FFOF and have found it to be fine, not to mension it's a fricken' beautiful soil. The peppers seem to be the only seedlings (that I have tried) that are struggling. But I definitely believe in this case the peppers are not loving it!